The Ladybug Foundation - How a Young Girl is Educating the Masses About Homelessness

Hannah, now 15 years old, has been invited by schools, organizations, groups and companies to speak about the Ladybug Foundation and educate people on homelessness. She had made it her mission to spread the word about hunger and homelessness, and has spoken to thousands of people.

Hannah believes that if everyone shared what they have, there would be no more homelessness. The fact that this young girl cares so much and wants so badly to 'cure homelessness' is such a humbling, beautiful thing. As adults, we often take for granted the blessings we have in our lives. We walk by homeless people on the streets and may feel pity for them, but deep down, chances are, the majority of people are simply thinking 'I'm glad that's not me'. If we were able to see the situation through the eyes of an innocent child, we may see things very differently. People may say it's naive to believe that we can end homelessness but if everyone tried, why couldn't it be done? If every person did something, even if it was simply helping to bring awareness to the issue, ending homelessness could go from being a dream to a reality.

National Red Scarf Day was launched by Hannah on January 31st, 2008, upon the invitation of Senate and the Members of Parliament in Ottawa.

On January 31st, 2011, the "Walked a Mile in Their Shoes" walk for homelessness took place in Winnipeg. Three hundred dedicated people took part in the walk, despite the -30 degree Celcius temperatures. The idea of the walk was to bring awareness to hunger, homelessness and poverty - to walk a mile in the shoes of the people who deal with those conditions and walk those cold streets everyday in the winter. Pledges were made, donations were collected, and red scarves were worn to bring awareness and raise funds for homelessness projects.

The makeChange project is a multimedia kindergarten to grade 12 program designed for teachers across Canada to educate and empower young people about what's going on in the world and how they can make a difference. It was created to help spread Hannah's dream, along with her message of caring, love and empathy for all people.

If you're an educator and you're interested in bringing this program to your school, visit The Ladybug Foundation Education Program official website for more information.

It's possible for all of us to help. Even though ending homelessness seems like a daunting, insurmountable task, we can take strides to end homelessness, poverty and hunger. Spread the word, make a donation, volunteer your time. Hannah makes a point of letting the homeless people she meets know that she cares, that they're important, that their lives are worth something and that they're loved. If a young girl can do that, we certainly should be able to.

For more information and to find out how you can help, where you can make donations, what events are coming up, and how you can buy your red scarf, please visit the The Ladybug Foundation Website. Contact information, including an email address and snail mail address for questions and donations are on the website.